


Longing 'Til Dawn

by celestialstarss



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-07
Updated: 2020-08-07
Packaged: 2021-03-06 05:53:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,294
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25758394
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/celestialstarss/pseuds/celestialstarss
Summary: Having the same dream for a month is tiring, but when you meet the man of your dreams maybe it was all worth it.
Relationships: Akaashi Keiji/Bokuto Koutarou
Comments: 8
Kudos: 36





	Longing 'Til Dawn

**Author's Note:**

> For Bokuaka Week 2020! Day 7: Soulmates.

_ The dream starts the same every time. _

_ A small, mundane cafe. Nothing remarkable about it apart from just how tiny it was. _

_ The barista makes a latte with a heart decorated in the foam with a single glance once he hears the front door’s bell chime. Akaashi Keiji slides the mug off the counter wordlessly, nodding his thanks and finds a singular empty table next to the window, overlooking the rainy street outside. The other four tables are occupied by a mother and young daughter, who spills her hot chocolate right after her mother tells her to sit down and be careful, a young couple who are more worried about what’s on their phones than take part in what’s sure to be a strained and awkward conversation with each other, a student whose oversized headphones and scattered textbooks seem to scream, “Please don’t try to talk to me”, and a man with silver hair streaked black, back facing Keiji, hunched over the table, furiously scribbling on something.  _

_ Keiji takes a seat at the table near the gray window and quietly sips his drink as he watches the rainfall. He opens a book that he’s read a hundred times. The words don’t appear on the page, but he has them committed to memory. Though, the longer he flips through the pages, the less he remembers the words. Before long, his mind is as blank as the pages before him and he can’t help the dread that settles in his stomach, knowing that something is missing but not being able to know exactly what it is. As he reaches the back cover, the cafe is dim and empty apart from the silver-haired man, who is too occupied with what he is working on to notice the absence of everyone around him. Keiji opens his mouth to speak to the man, but words no longer exist. Silent air comes out as he reaches a hand out to touch the other, to grab his attention. The two grow further and further apart before Keiji’s vision is absorbed by the darkness.  _

If the dream’s ending wasn’t enough to jolt him awake, the alarm certainly was. A hand reached out to tap the words “Stop Alarm”. As his eyelids fluttered open, Keiji sighed and took a moment to catch his breath. He couldn’t put a number to how many times he’s experienced the same dream over and over these past few weeks, but he thought by now his body would get used to it. He was tired of waking up in a cold sweat. 

He turned his head and tilted his phone to check the day, which only elicited another sigh. Tuesday. Today was sure to be pretty dull: other than lunch plans with his friends, he had to attend the only class not related to his Literature major this term and as such, he didn’t hold nearly the same enthusiasm when completing the required coursework or attending class for that matter. Still, all of his assignments were completed on time and he’d never missed a lecture, earning him full marks in each class. 

With a groan, he peeled himself out of bed. He made his way through the short hallway to an open kitchen, thankful that after all the years he’d spent in student housing, he finally was able to move out into an apartment with Kenma Kozume, a friend he’d had since high school. Aside from the occasional belongings that Kenma left strayed across the backs of chairs or tabletops that signaled his presence, it would be hard to believe that someone other than Keiji lived here. Kenma usually reserved himself to his room when he wasn’t in class. He streamed and made videos of himself playing video games on the internet and had grown a significant following. On nights that he had off and Keiji’s homework load wasn’t too large, they hosted game nights where the remainder of their group, Hinata and Kageyama joined. 

This morning was the same as usual. Kenma had already left the house, likely sitting in his first class of the day, struggling to stay awake for the early eight am. Keiji chuckled to himself as he pictured a dozing Kenma, head bobbing up and down as he rests his head in a hand propped up on an elbow and forcing his eyes to stay open. Vivid images of memories of Kenma falling asleep in various situations floated through his head as he poured hot water from the electric kettle and stirred in a couple of teaspoons of instant coffee. A splash of creamer and a spoonful of sugar made up the rest of the world’s most mediocre cup of coffee, which Keiji drank down quickly, this time drinking for the sole purpose of getting caffeine into his body than for the experience that usually came with a morning’s first cup. 

* * *

“No, no, no! You don’t  _ understand!  _ The test wasn’t even in Japanese! Then, when I looked around, all of my classmates morphed into huge monsters with sharp teeth!” Hinata moved his arms around for emphasis and used his pointer fingers to signal fangs. The rest of the table looked at the short ginger with looks varying from interest to confusion. 

“Hinata, you’re an idiot,” Kageyama muttered, taking a long sip of his milk tea. 

“Hey! It was scary okay?” Hinata exclaimed, tossing a french fry at Kageyama, who caught it in his mouth. He exaggerated his chewing and swallowed with a smug grin. 

Despite the way the two interacted with each other, typically hurling insults at each other, Hinata and Kageyama got along surprisingly well. Their competitive spirits and passionate energy that they both had were a welcome addition to the quiet pair that Kenma and Keiji made. Kenma met Hinata first; they’d run into each other trying to go into the same class at the same time and was brought along to lunch with Keiji after that as an apology. Kageyama was brought by Hinata shortly following, and thus the group was created.

“You know Shoyo, I read that people who have dreams of taking tests feel like they’re being closely analyzed and they fear failure as well as disappointing others.” Keiji pointed out, taking a small bite of his sandwich. 

Hinata choked on the water that he was in the middle of gulping down. 

“Jesus, Akaashi. Psychoanalyze the poor guy, why don’t you?” Kenma stated, peering over his phone. Keiji’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. 

“O-oh. I’m sorry that’s not what I meant-” 

“It’s fine!” Hinata squeaked. 

“It’s just that I’ve taken an interest in dream meanings. Most of the articles seem like pseudoscience anyway. I’m sorry, Shoyo. I didn’t mean to offend you.” 

“No, it’s okay Akaashi, really. You’re kind of right, anyway.” Hinata rubbed the back of his neck and looked down as his face started to turn pink. Kageyama stared for a second in thought, then turned to Keiji. 

“Anyway...We all shared ours now. What was your dream like last night, Akaashi?” Kageyama asked, offering an opportunity to get the attention off of his friend. 

“It was the same one I’ve been having.” Keiji stated dryly. 

“So the cafe again?” Hinata asked. Keiji nodded. 

“How long is it now that you’ve been having that dream?” 

He considered this for a moment. “A month.” 

“Have you tried doing what I told you to last time?” Kenma asked before popping a chip in his mouth. 

“Yeah. I’ve been visualizing different dream scenarios but it never works.”

“Maybe you should see a dream doctor.” Hinata offered.

“A  _ dream  _ doctor?” Kageyama repeated. 

“W-well maybe they’d be able to help! You’d never know unless you try, Kageyama!” 

“Hm. I suppose. If it keeps up, I’ll consider it.” Keiji hummed, finishing the last couple bites of his sandwich before checking the time. “Ah. I have to go to work.” He took out cash and laid it on the table to pay for his portion of the meal. 

“Hey, Akaashi. Does the library have anything on ‘lucid dreaming’?” Kenma asked. 

“Lucid dreaming? Why?” 

“No reason.” He said, turning his attention back to his phone. 

Keiji raised a hand to say goodbye as he walked away.  _ ‘Hm.’  _ He hummed to himself. 

* * *

Bokuto Koutarou was tired of studying. The school’s library’s study room was too quiet. He always felt pressured to sit still and do his work, which by itself wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, but he couldn’t even eat during the long hours he logged there. Snacks themselves weren’t officially prohibited, but if the concentration of frequent patrons was broken by the crinkling of a bag, the phrase, “if looks could kill” would take a literal meaning.

However, the library’s main area was drastically different. Contrary to popular belief, the library was a highly favored place to be and although it had its (too) quiet areas, it also had spaces where noise was encouraged. Long whiteboards set up next to tables and rolling chairs so that study groups and tutoring sessions could naturally take place. Although these were mostly used for studying, the occasional group of underclassmen would come in and take turns drawing on the boards or play word guessing games, garnering lots of attention and laughter. 

Koutarou could never study in those kinds of areas-- he’d never get anything done. In combination with the excitement and friends circling through the area, the distractions would be too much and he needed to  _ focus.  _

To stay on the official volleyball team and keep his starting position, Koutarou needed to pass all his classes this semester. He’d accidentally gotten carried away with late-night practice last semester and as a result, neglected his studies. This time he was determined to succeed at everything he was taking on, even if his days seemed to drag and the only highlight was getting to play volleyball at the end of the day, it was sure to be worth it. He believed that everything works out the way it’s supposed to in the end. So, he was willing to suffer through studying for a math class that he was required to take as long as he was able to keep playing volleyball. 

A quiet buzzing from his pocket distracted him from copying a problem down, dropping his pencil to check who texted him. 

{Rooster Head} 

Word is practice is running extra late tonight.

Coach wasn’t happy with our serving in the 

last practice game...

Bro...my shoulder still kinda hurts from yesterday.

I know, I know. You’ll get a chance to

rest it after today though B) 

Oh yeah!! You had that dream again last night?

YEAH! How’d you know?! 

Wait, WHY do you wanna know??

We talked about dreams a little bit in Psych today.

Recurring dreams typically mean unresolved conflict.

So what’s bothering you, bro?

Unresolved conflict??? I think I’m fine?

I actually can’t think of anything :O 

Maybe the conflict is your brain not being able to 

reproduce the brain cells you lose daily.

RUDE.

Ahahahahaha I’m just fucking with you. 

>:((

See you at practice! :3 

Koutarou checked the time before pocketing his phone. He didn’t finish everything he needed to today, but it was time for him to leave. He mentally prepared himself for a long night as he cleaned up his area, packing his books and pens into his backpack. 

A sign with “Monthly Must-Reads” in block lettering caught his eye as he made his way toward the exit. He slowed as he glanced over the covers, stopping when he saw a navy blue one decorated with shining golden stars.  Dreams: What Yours Might Mean and How to Control Them _.  _ The cover read. 

_ ‘Huh. That’s an interesting idea.’ _ Koutarou thought as he gravitated toward the book. He picked it up and ran a hand over it, his fingertips moving up and down along the raised bumps of the stars. He clumsily slid his wallet out of his back pocket and grabbed his student id card as he walked over to the counter to check out. 

A series of satisfying beeps later, the book was officially his for the next three weeks. Koutarou bent over for a minute to place the book in his already book-filled backpack and he was on his way to volleyball practice where he would be able to forget about everything else that was going on around him. 

He’d leave some time before bed to determine the cause of his strange, recurring dream. 

* * *

_ ‘The best part about being a library technician,’  _ Keiji thought to himself, ‘ _ is that I can take the side staff door.’  _ He bent down to stick the key in that was connected to the lanyard around his neck and let himself in. It didn’t take a lot to make Keiji feel special, but it was satisfying having a special entrance. 

Some other student workers in the middle of checking books waved to him as he passed by and he nodded his head in response.

Keiji opened the door to his small office and turned on the lamp at his desk. The overhead lights were too harsh, even with the tapestry coverings that his boss, Haru, had given him that were hanging over them in an attempt to dim the harshness a little. His office was filled with decorations that she’d given him, to the point where the office took on the same modern bohemian vibe that she’d decorated her office with. Not that Keiji minded. He much preferred to work at the counter anyway, giving book recommendations, helping students find resources for projects, or even showing older community members how to use the new computers in the computer lab. 

He turned his computer on but walked out of his office to give it time to boot up. 

“Hey, Keiji. Good picks for the “Must Reads” table this month. We’ve been getting a lot of checkouts lately.” Haru called out as he punched his time card. 

“Thank you.” 

“Oh hey, apparently there’s a few Psychology classes that have been talking about dreams and students have been coming in, wanting more resources on it. I know that you’ve been doing some of your own research lately too.” Keiji turned his full attention toward her. 

“Yes.” 

“Would you create a list and display of some of the books on dreams we have here? I want it to be as accessible as possible.”

“I can do that.” He stated. 

“Awesome! You’re the best!” He offered a small smile to her grin, turning back to his office. His computer had access to the full library catalog and it would be easiest for him to print a list out from there and then go and find the books from their various shelves. 

Truth be told, he wanted to take a second look at the titles that they’d had on dreams one more time again anyway, so this was the perfect excuse to spend the majority of his shift today reading up on dreams. 

Kenma’s last question to Keiji had taken root in his mind and the entire walk back from lunch he started obsessing over what books on dreams came to mind. They had plenty of titles that described possible dream meanings, the science behind dreaming, and various books on sleep. He wasn’t entirely sure he’d spent any time looking at the books on lucid dreaming, though. From all of the research he’d done online, the idea of it was difficult to achieve and not many could do it. Would there really be any books on it? 

He chewed on the inside of his cheek as he typed the words into the database. He felt his eyebrows raise in surprise.  _ ‘Okay, yeah. That’s a lot.’ _ He thought. 

Nearly an entire shift full of research on lucid dreaming, collecting books, and creating a display later, Keiji walked out of the library eager to fall asleep that night. 

He ran through the plan that he made during work as he walked back to the apartment. He’d created a sort of ritual in his head that he’d complete before it was time he went to bed, which was going to be earlier than usual due to his excitement. He already had his dream memorized, so keeping the suggested dream journal would be redundant. He’d know exactly what would be different as soon as it happened. Tonight, he’d try telling himself that he was going to lucid dream while laying in bed and visualizing the dream itself. 

When he got home, Kenma was sitting cross-legged on the couch, playing Mario Kart on the TV. 

“Welcome home. Dinner’s in the kitchen.” 

He said, eyes glued to the screen. He clicked his tongue in annoyance as he got hit by a blue shell, losing his first place position to Bowser. Keiji left his shoes by the door and grabbed a bowl of the fried rice Kenma had made. Keiji started to get the impression that it was one of the only things Kenma was able to cook as they had it often, but he wasn’t going to complain.

He took a seat at the table so that he could watch his friend win the game. 

“I’m going to lucid dream tonight.” Keiji stated as soon as “Finish” flashed across the screen.

“It’s about time.” 

* * *

Koutarou’s room was quiet aside from the soft snores that came from his rooster-haired roommate. 

He was sitting at his desk, a small lamp dimly illuminating his side of the room. He wasn’t a huge fan of student housing, but since he was at the school on a sports scholarship, his living expenses were close to none and he figured sharing a room with one of his best friends wasn’t so bad, considering the price of rent for a good apartment was ridiculously expensive. 

Koutarou sighed as he shut the notebook that held his homework. Finally done. He peeked over at the LED clock he and Kuroo kept in their room. 2:00 AM. Shit. He was up hours past his usual bedtime and wasn’t able to get around to checking out his new book yet. He considered giving up and going to bed as it was late enough already but ended up running his hand over the raised stars on the cover as he recounted as much as he could remember about the only dream he’d been able to have for the past month or so. 

Each time started the same. 

_ A small cafe. The scene only perplexed him as he walked in. He wasn’t one to frequent cafes. A look on the barista’s face that said, ‘Why do you bother coming to this cafe if you know you’re just going to order a hot chocolate?’ Though his lips said “Coming right up!”  _

_ As Koutarou grabbed the paper cup and looked across the cafe, he breathed in the atmosphere. He witnessed a young couple, who at first glance was hardly paying attention to each other, but if one took the time to observe the short glances at each other, full of longing. The opening and closing of mouths as the young man attempted to speak, then thought better of it and returned his attention back to the screen in front of him. A mother patted her young, bouncing daughter on the head in an attempt to calm her down, to no avail. A student with headphones who looked like she was in the process of having a mental breakdown. Koutarou did not want to touch that. He slid by to sit at the furthest table from the door and positioned himself toward the wall.  _

_ He needed to focus. He pulled out his notebook and started writing.  _

_ He couldn’t make out anything that he was writing down, or if it even made sense, but he knew he needed to keep writing. He heard the ding of the front door and looked behind him for a split second--too quick to see anything, then back down to the notebook. Even though he only broke concentration for a moment, words that were previously written were missing suddenly. Pressure filled his chest and caught in his throat. He found himself writing faster and faster, reluctant to look away, and even to blink. He opens his eyes wider and writes faster and faster still, not able to look away even if he wanted. He tries to stop his hand from moving, grabbing it with his left hand. He isn’t even sure he’s writing words on the page, and a peek reveals dark illegible scribbles all over the pages.  _

Koutarou shudders at the memory. It’s a horrible nightmare and he preferred not to think about it while he was awake, but if he was going to get to the bottom of why he was having it, maybe he could do something to prevent having it in the first place. 

He flips through the pages of his new book, coming across a chapter detailing lucid dreaming and possible ways to become a lucid dreamer, which catches his attention. 

“Ooh!” He whispered to himself, drawing a leg underneath himself to get into a comfortable position.

* * *

_ Keiji walked into the cafe the same as always. With a glance, the barista had Keiji’s latte ready, heart in the foam as perfect as ever. He overlooked the small area packed with tables. Nothing out of the ordinary. His spot near the window was open, the child spilled her hot chocolate as if on cue, the out of touch couple, the overworked student and-- wait. He ran through the list in his head again as he counted everyone in the room. In addition to the empty table near the window, there was also an empty table furthest from the door. That’s two empty tables, the silver-haired man was missing.  _

_ Does that mean? _

_ Keiji pinched his nose and tried to breathe, finding that he was still able to take in oxygen. _

_ “Yes!” He exclaimed. No one took any mind to him, not even bothering to look his way, continuing on with what they were doing.  _

_ Instead of taking the table near the window as always, he walked over to the other empty table and sat down in the seat the other man usually took. He was facing the wall, but he took the time to notice the decor on the walls. This cafe had...interesting taste to say the least. There were various pictures of birds, but it seemed like the owner must have been very fond of owls in particular.  _

_ The sound of the bell signaled someone entering the cafe and Keiji couldn’t help but look behind him to witness the new arrival.  _

_ Upon seeing the stranger, he immediately turned back around as his face suddenly felt hot. He’d never seen the front half of the man who had silver and black hair before and didn’t know what his name was, but what Keiji did know is that the man was impossibly attractive. _

_ ‘So that’s the definition of a dream guy,’ Keiji thought. ‘there’s no way he could be real.’  _

_ “HUH?!” Keiji felt himself flinch at the sudden loudness.  _

_ “Wait..that can’t be right..I usually..” The other man muttered to himself. _

_ ‘Hold on.’ Keiji spun around and locked eyes with the stranger for the first time. He tried not to lose his train of thought as the other’s golden eyes shone brightly.  _

_ “You can tell that something’s different?” He asked. He stared back with a stunned look on his face. He took a couple seconds too long to respond and Keiji cocked an eyebrow. This seemed to kick the other into gear.  _

_ “Uh.. yeah. I mean.. I usually sit there and I’ve never seen you before. Trust me I would remember you. You’re way too pretty.” It was Keiji’s turn to be silently stunned. The blush came back to his face as he lowered his gaze to the floor.  _

_ ‘I know this is a dream, but really?’  _

_ “Wait hold on. Who are you anyway?” The man pulled him from his thoughts. Why was he asking him this?  _

_ “What?”  _

_ “Y’know how they say you only dream about people you’ve seen before?” He had a point.  _

_ “I guess I should be asking you that then, seeing as this is my dream. I suppose we must have crossed paths at some point, but I don’t particularly remember you either, though I should.” He muttered the last sentence partly to himself, turning slightly to grab his latte and took a sip. Flavorless liquid filled his mouth and he set the cup down, dissatisfied.  _

_ “Your dream?”  _

_ “Yes?” That much was obvious. He knew he was dreaming. He did the breathing test.  _

_ “But..I just fell asleep. I have this dream nearly every night. I know this is my dream--”  _

Before Keiji was able to form another thought or say anything to respond, his alarm ripped him back into consciousness. He silenced his phone with a tap and fell into his pillows. 

_ ‘What was that?’ _

* * *

“Hey! Are you even listening to me?” Kuroo exclaimed, hitting Koutarou’s arm. When he told Bokuto to have lunch with him, he was expecting a lively conversation, not whatever this was. But Koutarou wasn’t listening. He was too busy thinking about the weird dream he had last night. 

“Sorry. What did you say?” Kuroo huffed in annoyance. 

“I  _ said,  _ I had a new idea for a business venture and that you should really join me on this one. You feeling alright?” He put a hand to his friend’s forehead but he didn’t have a fever. 

“Is it possible to be in someone else’s dream?” 

“...Huh?” 

“My dream last night was different. I think I did the lucid thing,” Kuroo’s mouth opened in surprise, but Koutarou continued. “There was a guy--a GORGEOUS guy sitting at the table I usually sit at and I said something about usually sitting there and turned around and asked if I could tell that there was something different and I was like yeah and I asked who he was because I’ve never seen him before and I remember you telling me about how we only dream about people we’ve seen before. Believe me I would have remembered if I’ve ever seen him before.” 

He paused to breathe before continuing, Kuroo nodding along as he spoke. “Anyway, then he said something about it being  _ his  _ dream and that really confused me because it was so obviously  _ my  _ dream, you know? Then I woke up.” Kuroo stared at him while he thought for a moment, taking a bite out of his lunch. 

“Why did he say it was his dream? And why did he have to be so  _ pretty _ ? It’s not fair!” Koutarou whined. He deflated and put his head on the table, splaying his arms out in front of him. 

Kuroo lifted his half-eaten lunch up to avoid getting knocked over by Koutarou’s arms. 

“I wish he was real. I wish I knew what my dream was trying to tell me.” 

“Well,” Kuroo started. “ _ I  _ have no idea what any of that means. Like I said, we just began to touch the topic of dreams.” Koutarou sank further down. 

“But! Lucky for you, I know where we can go to get more information.” He declared. Koutarou cocked his head so that he could see Kuroo. The wide grin on his face made him slightly nervous.

“Where?” 

“The library. We are getting to the bottom of whatever the hell’s going on in your dreams.”    


* * *

It had been a long day for Keiji. He felt more tired in the morning than when he went to sleep the night before. His brain began to hurt whenever he tried to think about what happened, and more importantly, what was  _ said _ . 

The handsome stranger overtook his thoughts and he found himself obsessing over what he said in his dream. Is it possible that he was real? 

_ ‘Is it possible for two people to have the same dream? And if it is, is it possible to connect with someone in a dream?’  _

Under normal circumstances, he would have had more than enough time to do adequate research into it at the library as he worked mornings through early afternoons on Wednesdays, which usually are slow days. Unfortunately for him, but fortunately for the library, it seemed like every student who stepped foot in the facility was in need of assistance. Whether it was finding research materials, learning how to use the electronic book finder, or even asking for book recommendations, Keiji found himself very occupied talking to and helping as many students as he could. 

Five minutes before the end of his shift, a tall man with a serious case of bedhead walked up to the counter. 

“How can I help you?” Keiji asked. 

“My buddy has been having some crazy weird dreams lately and we were wondering if you guys had anything on dreams that weren’t on display? We’re looking at some of those now, but just in case. Anything about meeting a really hot person in your dreams?” He asked with a grin.

‘ _ Probably didn’t need to know the ‘hot’ part, but okay.’  _ He was familiar with people who asked for books for their  _ friends _ , but they were really looking for themselves and assumed it was the same for this case.

“Sure. Let me see what we have.” He gracefully typed keywords into the database and tried to make it as specific as possible. He found a few that could possibly work and wrote them out on a sticky note. 

“I have a couple that might work for what you’re looking for. Would you like me to show you where to find them?” 

“That’d be great, thank you.” Keiji led the man away from the counter and towards the towering bookshelves.

“So your  _ friend  _ has been having weird dreams?” He asked. 

“Yeah, apparently it’s some kind of recurring one? He says it’s been the same one for a while.” It was good to know that other people could be going through the same thing he was. An image of his golden-eyed stranger popped into his head. He shook the thought away as he tried to think of possible reasons for recurring dreams. 

“Hm. Does he have something in his life that’s causing him stress?” 

“Have you ever heard of a college student who  _ wasn’t  _ stressed?” 

__ Keiji chuckled, “No. I haven’t.” He checked the post-it one more time and took another turn before arriving at the correct section. He scanned the shelves quickly and pulled out the three books that were written down. 

“Try these,” He said, handing them to the other man. “They should have something on meeting people and could possibly have a section on recurring dreams.” 

“Thank you very much.” The man said, as they walked away from the bookshelves. 

“Mhm.” 

As he began to turn to go down another aisle, Keiji stopped. 

“Ah, was there anything else you needed help with?” 

“No, that should be it. Thanks again…. Uh...” 

“Akaashi.”

“Akaashi. We’ll be by the counter again if we need help.” 

“Mm.” Keiji said with a slight smile and nod. He made his way back behind the counter and checked the clock. As of three minutes ago he was officially off. He clocked out and ducked into his office to grab his things while taking a moment to breathe. 

* * *

_ ‘There were so many people today. I couldn’t even get a break to eat, let alone do any research.’  _ He picked up his bag and set it on his desk while he considered staying to look through some of the books, then decided he’d rather go home and try his luck googling what he needed to know. He flipped off the light, locked the door and waved to a couple of his coworkers on his way out the staff entrance. 

Koutarou stared at the book in front of him as his eyes focused and unfocused again and again, making the words on the page blur into each other, rendering them unreadable. 

“Agh! None of this is working!” 

“Calm down, owl head. We’ve only been here for thirty minutes. We’ll figure it out.” Kuroo said, scanning the pages of a fourth dream interpretation book. 

“Ughh.”   


“Why don’t you ask someone for help?” 

“Uuuggghhhh.” 

“Fine. Suffer and leave the reason you’re having these dreams to remain a mystery forever.” 

“Kuroooooo….” Koutarou whined. Kuroo slammed the book shut.

“Alright! Shut up! I’ll go! Quit feeling sorry for yourself and get some drinks for us while I’m gone.” He stomped off. Koutarou stared after him for a second before he grabbed his wallet and walked the opposite direction to the vending machines. 

_ ‘What if I don’t have the dream tonight? What if I do have the dream but he’s not there this time? Have I seen him before? Does he even exist? I’m already whipped for a guy I’ve never met. I can’t believe this.’  _

He bought two teas from the machine and walked back to the table he and Kuroo had taken over, books taking up the entire tabletop. 

Sitting down, he placed Kuroo’s tea in front of his seat and opened another book. He held it open with his elbow as he unscrewed the cap of his tea, taking a sip with his right hand and shifting to hold the book with his left. 

“Ah, was there anything else you needed help with?”  _ ‘Hold on. That voice.’  _

Koutarou choked on his tea as he realized that the voice he just heard sounded suspiciously like the one that belonged to the stranger in his dream. He looked down and noticed splotches of liquid everywhere. 

“Oh no.” He said, setting the items in his hands down as he reached for a tissue from his bag. As he stood back up, he bumped his still-open bottle of tea and watched in horror as it spilled across the table. He caught the bottle before all of its contents spilled out, and stacked some of the books out of the way of the liquid. Some of the covers got wet, but it didn’t appear that any of the pages were damaged. In a panic, he tried soaking up the liquid with the pocket tissues and when they didn’t adequately dry the table, he resorted to using the bottom of his shirt. 

“Uh…?” Kuroo trailed off. The look on Koutarou’s face when he made eye contact with Kuroo was pitiful. 

“What happened?”

“I spilled.” 

Kuroo snorted. “Obviously.” He paused to hear a more detailed explanation. 

“I'm pretty sure I just heard his voice.” 

“Whose voice?” 

“ _ His.” _

“...God?” Koutarou let out an exasperated groan.

“The guy from my dream!”

“Ohh!” Kuroo paused as he thought for a second. His face lit up quickly after. 

“Oh! Are you sure?” 

“Yes! I need to go look for him to make sure.” He back looked at Koutarou, who was the definition of a hot mess. His hair was falling into his face and his shirt was half soaked from trying to clean up his spill. If he walked up to his dream guy looking like that, he’d get shot down so quickly. 

“I have an idea, but you should probably get cleaned up first.”

“I’d have to go to the dorm.”

“Hm. Here, take this.” Kuroo said, leaning down to reach into his bag and pulled out a white t-shirt. 

“I was going to swap it for my dirty one in practice today but you need it more than I do.”

“Okay..” Kuroo ushered Koutarou away from the table and towards the bathroom as he stacked some of the books. 

On the way out, Koutarou scanned the library, looking for any sort of sign of his dream guy but he couldn’t spot anyone who looked like him. 

He quickly changed once he got to the restroom and took a minute in front of the mirror to fix his hair. He took a deep breath as he examined his reflection. 

_ ‘ Did I really hear his voice or was I just imagining it? I’ve been thinking about him all day lately so I guess it’s not totally impossible. There’s no way he could possibly be real.’ _

Defeated, Koutarou walked back into the library, noticing Kuroo at the help desk talking to a girl with a lanyard around her neck on his way in. He made his way over and when he was close, Kuroo looked over to spot him, waving at him. 

“Ah, okay. Thank you then.” He cut his conversation short and met Koutarou the rest of the way, turning him around with a hand on his shoulder as he walked the opposite direction back to their table. 

“Let’s get outta here!”

“What was that about?” 

“Nothing. Let’s grab some food before practice starts.” 

“But what about-”   


“Don’t even worry about your dream for the rest of today. I have a solution. It’ll have to wait though.” He said with a grin on his face. He broke away from Koutarou once they reached their table to grab his bag. 

‘ _ Is he going to make me see some kind of specialist or something?’  _

“I don’t like that look on your face.” 

“It’s just my face. Wait, don’t you trust me?”

“Not when you look like that.” 

“Hey!” He growled, slugging Koutarou’s upper arm and the both of them fell into laughter as they walked out the library doors together. 

* * *

_ T _ _ he dream always starts the same. _

_ A small, mundane cafe. A bell signaling his arrival. A glance from the barista before a latte is placed on the counter.  _

_ Keiji grasped the mug with a sigh, looking down at the foam. The decoration was a sun this time, and was it...winking at him? He squinted into his cup. Yeah, it was definitely winking. How strange.  _

_ Wait. _

_ Something’s different.  _

_ Keiji turned back to the counter, placed a hand on it and pressed down. Instead of feeling any friction, his hand passed right through it.  _

_ A dream! It happened again! _

_ He grinned as he walked into the seating area, immediately spotting the silver and black-haired stranger from before.  _

_ “You!” The stranger exclaimed once he noticed Keiji’s presence.  _

_ “Me.” He replied, joining him at the table by the window.  _

_ He set his drink down, remembering that it didn’t taste like anything and it was there more for the aesthetic.  _

_ “So, we meet again.”  _

_ “That we do. You remember me from last time?”  _

_ “How could I ever forget? You’re the prettiest person I’ve ever laid eyes on! I was thinking about you all day!”  _

_ ‘He was thinking about me?’ Keiji felt warmth dance on his cheeks. _

_ “Ah, I think you’re very handsome as well.” The stranger smiled the widest, most brilliant grin Keiji’s ever seen in his life. He could imagine his stomach doing somersaults as his heart performed backflips.  _

_ “You know, I thought I heard your voice today.” _

_ “Oh?” _

_ “Yeah, I must have been hallucinating though.” _

_ “What makes you say that?” _

_ “Well, I mean you’re not real.” He said it so matter-of-factly, it almost made Keiji believe him. _

_ “I’m real.” He almost sounded offended.  _

_ “Hahaha, just what my dream guy would say.” _

_ “Well, I guess it does depend on where you’re referring to.” _

_ “Huh?” _

_ “Well, I know that this is a dream and not reality.” He pressed his hand through the table as he did before, but this time for emphasis. “So here, I am not real. You’re right about that. But when I’m awake, I believe I’m about as real as it gets. I know that the books I read are real, my roommate is real,” He rubbed his temples, and continued. “Rent is real..and a pain in the ass.”  _

_ “Rent?” _

_ “Yeah, living on my own is harder than I thought it’d be. But I manage. Aside from the stressful nights of studying and working part time, I quite like it.”  _

_ Keiji could see the gears turning in the other man’s head.  _

_ “Wait. But if you’re real and I’m real, that means we’re both real?”  _

_ ‘Wait.’  _

_ “You’re real too?”  _

_ “Yeah, I mean I don’t pay rent, but I stay in my school’s dorms. I mean when I’m not in this stupid dream,” He pouted and then jolted up. “Not that I’m calling you stupid, just that I’ve been having the same dream for the past month.”  _

_ ‘The same dream for the past month? Wait, that’s not what I want to know right now. Dorms?’  _

_ “You said you live in a dorm? Where do you go to school?” _

_ “University of Tokyo.” A coincidence. It had to be. Keiji was silent as he thought about this.  _

_ ‘If what he was saying was true, and I believe him to be telling the truth, he’s been having this same dream for the past month. The same as me. He could notice that something was different the same time I did. He goes to University of Tokyo, which is also the same as me. That means…’  _

_ “Hey are you okay?” The other man asked, interrupting his train of thought.  _

_ “Yes.” _

_ “You kind of spaced out there for a second.”  _

_ “Sorry.” _

_ “It’s alright, I was just saying how glad I was to meet you here. It’s like fate brought us together or something.”  _

_ “Yeah… Could I ask you your name?” _

_ “My name? O-of course! I’m so sorry I didn’t introduce myself sooner! I’m-”  _

Alarm clocks really have the worst sense of timing.

Keiji opened his eyes with an irritated groan and gave his phone an aggressive tap before falling silent. He had a lot to consider. 

* * *

“Akaashi-san, there was a strange man asking for you after your shift yesterday.” 

“How strange?” 

“He said that his friend dreamt of you and that he needed to make you two meet so he could be the ‘coolest best friend ever’.” 

“That...is strange.” Someone...dreamt of him? 

_ ‘It couldn’t be...no. It has to be a coincidence.’ _

“Should I tell campus security? He even looked kind of crazy.” 

“No, that’s fine. I’m sure it’s nothing.” He said, looking down at the check-out computer. 

_ ‘A coincidence. Nothing more. Don’t get your hopes up, Keiji.’  _

“Hey Akaashi.” He looked up to see Kenma. 

“Hey.” Kenma placed a book on the counter in front of him.

“I need to check this out for business.” 

“Sure.” Keiji said, grabbing the book and scanning it.

“You!” His attention was ripped to the left of him, noticing the man with the crazy hair he’d helped yesterday staring at him with a large grin on his face, standing next to the person who yelled

“Huh?! What are you doing here?” 

“What do you mean what am I doing here? What are you doing here?” 

“I work here!”

“I’m lost. Someone fill me in.” Kenma muttered. 

“He’s my dream guy!” Kenma looked to Keiji for an explanation. He shrugged and nodded as if to say, “It’s true.” Kenma squinted at him. 

“Apparently they’ve been dreaming of each other the past month but didn’t realize it until a couple nights ago. Or at least that’s what I’ve pieced together from what Bokuto’s told me.” Bedhead said. 

“You didn’t tell me that you’ve been dreaming about a guy.” Kenma said. 

“I never got the chance to.” 

“Speaking of never getting the chance to do something! I didn’t get to introduce myself last night. I’m Bokuto Koutarou.” 

A slight smile threatened the corners of Keiji's lips.

“Akaashi Keiji. It’s nice to meet you, Bokuto-san.” Bokuto’s golden eyes widened in surprise. 

“I-”

“And I’m Kuroo Tetsurou, best friend and match maker.” Kuroo said, then looked at Kenma expectantly. 

“Kozume...Kenma.” 

"Well, now that everyone's acquainted, maybe we should-" 

“Akaashi.” Bokuto interrupted, turning his whole body toward the counter. His eyes burned with intensity as he stared at Keiji. 

“Yes?” 

“Grab coffee with me when you get off of work?”

He smiled. “Okay.” 

**Author's Note:**

> Ahhh okay hi this is my first fic that I've ever finished before (maybe you could tell, sorry)! Huge thank you to @tobiochii for reading the first ROUGH (so rough it wasn't even finished) draft and to @tinysriasih for helping me get over writer's block and telling me to put Bokuto and Kuroo in the library (and for also reading a rough, rough draft)!! I appreciate you so much! 
> 
> If you're interested in bullying me or being my friend, my twitter is @taskfocuss
> 
> Thank you so much for reading!


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